by PP Corcoran
What he did see was a large black cloud mushroom into the air, closely followed by a loud boom. The marines’ names began to flash red in the head up display. The warning tone started up again. Alec cancelled the tone and cleared the display. He could do nothing for them now. Semple tapped his arm and indicated ‘The Others’ base. Alec used his helmet optics to zoom in. He could see more sleds moving from the base in the direction of the explosion, this time accompanied by larger hovering vehicles – troop transports if Alec was to make a guess. From bad to worse, thought Alec.
Alec gave the clenched fist jerking motion to Semple, indicating that they were to double time it. Both men set off at a run, their Wraith suits building up to a steady and sustainable forty kilometres an hour. They covered the distance to the FRV in seven minutes and settled into firing positions to await the arrival of the remaining marines. They did not wait long. Alec was just catching his breath when his Wraith suit warned him that a whisker laser, using the correct Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) challenge, had hit him. Murray ordered his suit to acknowledge and two Marines appeared, as if out of nowhere, slotting themselves into firing positions expanding the perimeter of the FRV. Quickly, three more pairs of Marines arrived. IFF issued its challenge to each pair before Alec acknowledged and granted permission to enter the FRV.
Alec moved to the centre of the marines and tapped Semple’s boot. The Corporal turned to face him and Alec pointed a straight arm in the direction of the waiting Tanto. Semple gave him the okay signal, then tapped the marine to his right and moved off in the direction indicated by Alec. The marine Semple had tapped allowed Semple to get a few metres ahead before he, in turn, tapped the next marine to his right, stood up and moved off. Each marine repeated the action until all the marines were on the move. Third in line was Alec. Not a spoken word or an electronic emission made during the whole process. No need to give ‘The Others’ a sniff of their location.
The marines had been moving at a steady rate for over an hour when Alec’s suit buzzed for attention. The head up display indicated a low threat warning. It detected an increase in electromagnetic radiation. The on-board computer classed the source as a ground search radar of unidentified class off to the right of his line of march. Alec kept an eye on it but the source did not grow in intensity. He kept the marines moving. After a few minutes, the suit buzzed for attention once more. On the display, Alec saw a second source appear, this time off to his left. Alec did not like what he was seeing; he had an enemy contact on his right and now another on his left, time to step up the pace. Alec tapped the marine in front of him and indicated for him to double time it. Turning, Alec made sure the marine behind him got the same message.
Semple waited a few seconds to ensure the message reached the last man, then set off at double time. Alec’s suit buzzed for attention a third time. He saw a third source appear on the display, this one behind him. ‘The Others’ were boxing him in. It was still over fifty kilometres to the Tanto. Forget covert! Murray thought. He activated his Comms, keeping the power low so it only broadcast to the marines with him. “The enemy have us on three sides, they either haven’t got a blocking force into position in front of us yet or the blocking force is in position and we’re going to run right into them. Unfortunately, they are between us and our ride home. Keep your eyes open and watch each other’s backs –– this could get messy very fast. None of the marines replied, they had all seen the same thing on their own display and were all experienced enough to read the signs.
Alec’s suit buzzed and on the head up display the blocking force appeared three hundred meters ahead of them. The Marines went to ground as Alec used his optics to scan the small ridge line that concealed the enemy. There! A slight movement in the vegetation. Alec switched to thermal imaging and the shapes of twenty or so ‘Others’ were clearly outlined. The darker shape of long weapons they were aiming in his direction stood out in the display. Alec checked the groups to his left and right. They seemed to be holding position, as was the group to the rear, not wanting to walk into the crossfire from their own ambush, no doubt. Alec sent the information to his marines’ suits so they could see what they faced, before opening his Comms link.
“Okay, marines. Here’s the plan. We move forward in a skirmish line, using the chameleon units in the suits to get as close as possible. On either effective enemy fire or on my command, we break into our pairs and fire and manoeuvre through the enemy line. Once you are through, you hightail it to the Tanto and tell Gunny Young that he is to run for the Henry Hudson at the slightest sniff of the enemy or at his own discretion. The intelligence is more important than any of us, understood?” A line of green lights on his head up display acknowledged his orders. “On the count of three, cross deck all the information you have to every suit. Stand by. One, two, three.” Again, a line of green lights illuminated in his display as his suit acknowledged receipt of the data from the other marines. “Okay, marines. Let’s move out.”
The marines shook down into a skirmish line, each marine advancing up the ridge line a few meters apart, with Alec in the centre. The marines slowly approached the enemy position with their suits set to thermal vision. ‘The Others’ position clearly visible to their front still with no indication that they had detected them. Only twenty meters from the enemy, struck by a low intensity laser that the suit classified as a laser designator, Alec’s suit screamed at him. Somebody was pointing something nasty at him.
Alec swung his plasma rifle around and fired a short burst in the direction of the source of the laser. There was a satisfying scream, quickly cut off; a strike from a plasma rifle tended to kill quickly.
Alec’s marines interpreted his action as their queue to break into fire and manoeuvre. One marine in each pair would provide covering fire while his partner moved a few meters forward; he would then fire whilst the first man advanced. It was an effective way to cover ground quickly whilst laying down constant fire. The marines advanced onto the ridge line like the wrath of God; anything moving instantly received fire. The marines moved through the enemy position and broke for the waiting Tanto.
Alec looked into his head up display as it called for his urgent attention. His heart sank. The three remaining enemy forces were closing on his position. The suit projected all three would combine and intercept them while the marines were still fifteen kilometres short of the Tanto. Alec activated his comm link. “Corporal Semple. You plus Marine Chin, will continue to the Tanto. The rest of us will go firm here and attempt to delay the enemy.”
Semple knew better than to argue. Instead, he grabbed Alec by the hand and shook it as he said, “Aye aye, sir. Good luck.”
Alec watched as Semple and Chin ran, at the suits’ best speed, for the waiting Tanto, carrying the information that was about to be bought with the lives of his men.
The Marines set themselves up ready to receive the oncoming enemy force. Alec’s suit was telling him that it estimated nine sleds and three troop carriers. If the enemy forces he had faced on the ridge were of a similar makeup, then he should be facing upwards of sixty troops. Alec looked around at his seven marines. Yeah! He thought to himself, a small smile creasing his face. He had them outnumbered!
The enemy forces came on at speed with the sleds in the lead. Alec let them close to within one hundred meters before opening fire. The concentrated fire of Marine plasma rifles cut through whatever armour the sleds had. Within seconds, there were seven smoking craters in front of the marines’ position; the surviving two sleds searched for cover, to no avail. The marines switched fire and brought the two sleds crashing down. Thick black smoke from burning sleds now obscured the area in front of the marines; the heat from the fires interfered with the suits’ thermal imagery. The marines resorted to the Mark One Eyeball. The second the marines had opened fire on the sleds, the troop transports had gone to ground; there was no sign of the troops that Alec was certain they were carrying.
A series of explosions, just short of the marines’ position,
warned Alec of advancing troops. They were firing what seemed to be some kind of kinetic energy weapon from a small roof-mounted turret. Fortunately, the fire was not accurate, but it was enough to keep the marines heads down, sufficiently distracting them for a few seconds –– which was all that was needed. A cry from a marine at the far left of their fire position enlightened Alec as to what had happened to the enemy who had been on the troop transports. They had left their transport behind and were attempting to outflank him. The tell-tale red in his display advised Alec that, sadly, for that marine the fight was over.
Alec quickly determined he had to swing his position or the enemy would roll him up. Just as he was on the verge of giving the order, his helmet filled with the voice of Gunny Young.
“Marines! Danger close! Get small!”
Alec curled into the smallest ball possible and hugged the ground. The entire world around him shook. Buffeted by explosions, flying fragments impacted his suit. The noise seemed to go on for an eternity but Alec knew it could only have been a few seconds, and then all was quiet.
The commanding voice of Gunny Young came through the comm link again. “Marines, count off.”
Alec heard himself say “Murray here,” and listened as his six surviving marines called in. Alec got to his feet and looked at the devastation around his position. The enemy troop transports were burning shells, the dismounted troops cut down where they had stood by the now grounded Tanto. The troop hatch opened, Gunny Young stepped down and walked towards Alec as the marines that Alec had left with the Gunny fanned out eagerly seeking new targets.
Young stopped in front of Alec. “Heard you needed a lift, sir.”
Despite himself, Alec smiled. “Appreciate it, Gunny. I take it you have Semple and Chin on board?”
“That I do, sir. Although Corporal Semple is in restraints at the moment.”
“Dare I ask why, Gunny?” asked Alec
“He was very insistent on returning for you and the others, sir, after he ensured that Chin’s suit had all the data and it was good to be transferred to the Tanto. Went as far as using bad language to me, sir. You know I can’t abide bad language. I was forced to persuade him to remain on board. Medic says his teeth can be put back in when we get back to the Henry Hudson and the bruising should clear up nicely.”
Alec could not help but let out a small laugh. “What can I say? He appreciates a good officer.”
It was the Gunny’s turn to smile. “Well, if I ever find one, I’ll let you know, sir. Now, if you want to get yourself and the boys aboard, I’ll give the area a quick once over and see what we can recover that might be useful. Then I suggest we beat a hasty retreat for the Henry Hudson and get the hell out of this system – before the big boys up there make their presence felt.”
Alec took a moment to look around. His gaze fell on a body of one of ‘The Others’ and he moved closer to get his first good look at the enemy. The body looked to be about two meters tall and was covered head to toe in body armour, not dissimilar to the marines’ own Wraith suits. Pale, almost translucent skin peaked out through a hole in the chest armour, penetrated by the impact of a Marine rifle. Alec used his boot knife to unseal ‘The Others’ helmet and opened it to reveal a broad face with two large eyes mounted further apart than a human. There was no appearance of a nose, and then Alec noticed what looked very like fish gills on either side of the neck. The mouth was more rounded than a human and contained an impressive set of razor sharp teeth. Any further examination of the body would have to wait. ‘The Others’ ships in orbit had already demonstrated that they could lay waste to vast areas of a planet’s surface if they so wanted.
“Let’s get to it, Gunny, and make sure we secure some of the enemy remains and equipment; then we’re out of here.”
“Aye aye, sir.” With that, Gunny Young started passing orders to the marines while Alec headed for a seat on the Tanto. They were not clear of this yet.
#
John Radford was asleep in his quarters when the urgent comm tone woke him; he was up and dressing as he pressed the accept button. “Captain.”
The face of Lt. Falconer his Tactical Officer appeared in the Holo Cube. “Sir, passive sensors have picked up the returning Tantos. They’re coming in at full speed; even a blind man could see their emissions.”
That wasn’t good, thought John. They must be in trouble. “Contact the Vasco De Gama by whisker laser and tell them that both ships are to make for a shortest time intercept with the Tantos. Sound battle stations. Full emissions protocol remains in place till we know what we’re dealing with here.” The wail of battle stations erupted throughout the Henry Hudson. The automated computer voice called the crew to their stations as John ran for the bridge.
John entered the bridge, immediately calling to Lt. Falconer. “Update please, Tactical.” His Holo Cube sprang to life, displaying two Tantos moving at speed towards them. John wondered what spooked Alec and his marines so much that they were throwing all caution to the wind, running at full speed. A fresh icon, circled in red, appeared in his display, promptly followed by another and then another.
“Computer is designating the new ships as Bogies One, Two and Three. They match the size and shape of ‘The Others’ ship that we ran into last time we were here. Power output shows that their weapons are hot,” reported Falconer. Now John knew why the Tantos were running. ‘The Others’ ships were monsters compared to the lightly armed shuttles.
“Time till Bogey One can take the shuttles under fire?”
Falconer did some quick calculations. “Sir, our best guess at their armament would put the shuttles in weapons range of Bogey One in... eleven minutes with Bogies Two and Three entering weapons range in... sixteen minutes. Sir, if the computer’s reading on ‘‘The Others’ weapons’ power output is even half right, then a shuttle would not survive a direct hit.”
John looked over at Lt. Danino, “Navigation. Time till we intercept the shuttles?”
Danino turned to look at his captain, “Fourteen minutes, sir.”
We’re going to be too late, thought John, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“Captain,” Lt. Cai’s voice at Comms cut into John’s thoughts. “I have Major Murray for you.”
The face of Alec Murray appeared in John’s Holo Cube. What do I say to him? I cannot get to him in time...
Alec spoke before John could say anything. “Captain, we’ve run the numbers here. We know you won’t get to us before we enter their firing range so I’m transmitting all the intelligence we gathered to you now.”
John got a nod from Cai. “We’ve got it, Alec. Tell your pilots to go to evasive manoeuvres, just buy us a few minutes. We can get to you.”
Murray smiled at him. “Captain, you know that the Henry Hudson has as little chance of taking on one of those monsters as we do in a shuttle. You have the intelligence. Get it home. Don’t let our lives have been for nothing.” And with that, the signal cut off. John stared at where the face of his friend had been. There must be something he could do?
Cai called for his attention, “Sir, Vasco De Gama for you.”
A view of the bridge of TDF Vasco De Gama appeared in front of John. There was a bustle of activity around the navigator’s position as Chief Engineer, Taylor, worked on a PAD and entered data into the navigation console before turning to Ruth Witsell. “Yes, I can do it, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Chief.” Ruth turned to the pickup. “John, we think we can buy you some time.”
“Tell me! I only need a few minutes and we can recover both shuttles,” demanded John.
Ruth gave a small shrug. “By doing what needs to be done.” She paused and looked down for just a moment before taking a deep breath and looking John square in the eye. “Get my people home John.” And with that, she was gone.
“Captain, the Vasco De Gama has activated her Gravity Drive. She’s gone,” said a stunned Falconer. “No. Hold on… I have her again. She’s dropped back into normal space. My G
od, sir! She’s directly behind Bogey One, range thirty thousand meters,” Falconer said in disbelief.
John spun to Cai at Comms. “Get me the Vasco De Gama now!”
Falconer began a running commentary. “Vasco De Gama is firing her particle cannon. Direct hit on Bogey One’s drive, Bogey One is slowing.”
“Get out of there, Ruth,” John heard himself say.
“Vasco De Gama is ignoring our hails, sir,” said Cai.
Falconer continued her commentary. “Bogey One is returning fire. Computer is designating the return fire as a Q Switching laser. Vasco De Gama is taking hits but the ablative armour appears to be holding. Attitude change from Bogey One: she’s turning broadside on. Multiple separations from Bogey One. Computer is designating them missiles. Vasco De Gama Laser Area Denial Systems are going active and engaging.”
John turned to Danino “Our time to shuttle intercept?”
Danino did not need to check. “Ten minutes, sir.”
John calculated the maths in his head. “Comms! Raise the Vasco De Gama. Tell them to get the hell out of there, now! They’ve bought us enough time.” John saw a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe Vasco De Gama’s gamble would pay off.
A shout from Tactical. “Bogey Two is engaging the Vasco De Gama!”
John looked into the Holo Cube, just in time to see an energy beam cut the Vasco De Gama cleanly in half. Shortly after, the remains exploded as containment failed on the drives and weapon systems.
There was a deathly silence on the bridge of TDF Henry Hudson. The stunned crew stared, in shock, at where their sister ship had just perished along with 135 men and women. John broke the silence, trying hard to keep his anger in check. “Snap out of it, people! We have two shuttle loads of marines that still need us and we’re short on time. Let’s not waste it.”